from GoodGoodGood – thanks to Pam P.
As the government shutdown enters its 26th day, America’s most vulnerable households are bearing the cost.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 42 million Americans will lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits on November 1.
Soon after the USDA posted that “the well had run dry,” Portland’s nonprofit coffee shop, Heretic Coffee, shared its own announcement.
“If your SNAP benefits are running out, then breakfast is on us,” the coffee shop wrote on October 26 in a now viral social media post.
“NO ONE should have to worry about their next meal. Portland fam, we know it’s not much, but we’ll do our best to keep you fed. Starting November 1st, each day 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.”
Heretic Coffee has been serving Portland for a little over two years.
“As a business that sells coffee and food, it didn’t feel right to just sit and watch people go hungry,” Josh, the owner of Heretic Coffee, told Good Good Good via email. “Regardless of government systems like SNAP succeeding or failing, I still believe it’s up to the community itself to look after one another.”
He added that their mission is instilled in the name of the business itself.
“The word heretic literally means ‘to disrupt the established institution of something,’” he emphasized, “so instead of waiting for someone else to fix it, we decided to feed people ourselves.”
When asked if Heretic Coffee was partnering with other shops or suppliers to pull off their mission, Josh said the endeavor is “mostly grassroots” at the moment.
“We’ve done things like this before, but never with this type of attention,” Josh said. “We’re actively getting things in place with local vendors and working with volunteers to cook, serve, and donate.”
“We’re also in ongoing conversations with local nonprofits to scale this sustainably if the need continues indefinitely,” he added.
After Heretic Coffee made its announcement, one Threads user replied: “Sorry, but you will be bankrupt in a week.”
“We responded with ‘Much rather go bankrupt feeding our people than selling coffee while other families starve’ and we stand by that comment,” Josh told Good Good Good. “However, the way our Portland community has already showed up, I am more than confident we can power through.” (continued on Page 2 or here)